The first stage of the Rally Japan on Friday turned out to be the last for the 2022 WRC2 title contender Kajetan Kajetanowicz from Poland. the Polish driver with co-driver Maciej Szczepaniak had a serious crash after exiting the tunnel and was unable to continue the rally.
On the first morning loop of the rally, the three-time European rally champion crashed on the special stage of Isegami’s Tunnel 1, which is a 23.3 kilometers long stage that was opened the Friday. He misjudged the breaking exiting the infamous Isegami’s Tunnel and on the loose gravel, he lost control and hit the wall with some force with the rear-left of his Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo.
The Orlen Rally Team crew has not suffered any serious injuries, but both are as reported by the driver on Twitter, a bit bruised. However, they will not be able to continue driving because the roll cage has been damaged in the car.
The battle for the WRC2 title took an unexpected twist, at the moment the only remaining contender is Emil Lindholm who is currently running third in the class, the Finn who claimed the WRC2 Junior title days before Spain, needs to only finish the rally in fifth or higher to be able to claim the crown over Andreas Mikkelsen, who is sitting out the rally.
